


Shaking Hands

by mamawerewolf



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Lack of Communication, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 19:25:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7119373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamawerewolf/pseuds/mamawerewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lisa Snart came around. Cisco decided to let her stay. The world didn't end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shaking Hands

“So,” Cisco said, clapping his hands and applauding himself mentally for his ability to make an interest. “You’ll never guess who showed up at _le Casa de Cisco_ last night.” They all stared at him expectantly. Barry was fresh from treadmill training, Caitlin was entering data into a tablet, Detective West was leaning back against the examination table, and Not-Evil Wells was doing something undoubtedly nefarious at the main computer. “No takers?”

Testily, Caitlin said, “Cisco-“

“Alright, alright, I give. Lisa Snart.”

Barry, Caitlin, and Detective West looked both exasperated and unsurprised. Harry, however, looked puzzled.

“Snart? As in Mayor Leonard Snart?”

They all looked at him. Mayor?

“No,” Cisco replied slowly, making eye contact with the others to make sure he heard that right, “as in Leonard Snart, AKA Captain Cold. The Snarts are a family of criminals. Lisa’s the younger, hotter, scarier one.”

Caitlin put her tablet down and crossed her arms. “What was she doing at your apartment, Cisco?”

Cisco shrugged. “Just wanted to check in, I guess. Update me on the Snart-family-whereabouts.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Well, Barry, that’s the million dollar question. Apparently that guy who approached Kendra and Carter about the time travelling thing asked for Snart too. And Heatwave, although why he was invited is beyond me.”

“Wait,” Joe said, doing that thing where he crosses one arm across his chest and uses the other to point when he’s figuring something out. “Didn’t Firestorm also go? Professor Stein sent us a message, asked us not to say anything to his wife.”

Harry still looked confused.

Lisa showing up at his apartment with info on her brother joining them wasn’t the weird part. She came over (broke in, more like, and gave him a heart attack) to hang out. Like _friends_. And yeah, there was the lip service against her motorcycle—of both the speaking and kissing variety—but come on. Lisa Snart could do a lot better than a nerdy guy with barely developed metahuman abilities and every Leia Organa action figure ever invented.

Barry, Caitlin, and Joe made him promise to text them next time he saw her just in case, but he doubted it would happen again.

Except it did.

“I happened to be in the neighborhood.” She held up two DVDs and smirked. “I didn’t know which you hated more: shitty cop comedies or shitty action movies. I brought both.”

“I’ll be damned,” Cisco said, leaning against his doorframe. “Lisa Snart on my door on a Tuesday at 6 o’clock, knocking like a normal person. Will wonders ever cease?” He gestured for her to come in.

Despite his easy posture, Cisco was actually a little nervous. After all, he was in sweats and an old work tee, and his place wasn’t exactly clean. He didn’t foresee her coming over again; Lisa Snart tended to disappear as suddenly as she appeared, leaving Cisco confused and conflicted every time. As it was, there were dirty dishes in the sink, a not insignificant pile of laundry by his bathroom, and little things he’d brought home from work to tinker on while he binge-watched Jane the Virgin scattered around his living room. Lisa didn’t seem bothered by it though.

“I suppose it would be expecting too much to hope you brought dinner?”

Lisa sat down, clearly empty-handed. She propped her feet up on his coffee table. “I figured since I was providing tonight’s entertainment you would be so kind as to take care of food.”

“Well, considering I have exactly three things in my fridge and two of them are experimental protein supplements, I think we’ll be getting take-out.” He grabbed the takeout menus he kept on the fridge and tossed them into her lap, sitting down next to her. “What’d you even bring?”

“Don’t laugh.” She handed them over.

The DVDs were still in the plastic. “ _Rush Hour 3_ and _The Expendables_?”

“Hey, I was on a schedule and that’s what I found in the bin at Walmart. Other than Star Wars, I don’t even know what movies you like. There were limited options.”

Cisco considered _his_ options. Option one: he could tell her she wasn’t welcome, hope that she doesn’t take that as a cue to give him the Midas Touch, text his team that she has paid him a visit. Option two: they could watch the shitty movies she brought, he could text the team and pray to God that no one in a uniform of any kind showed up, deal with that fall out.

Option three.

“While your contributions to this movie viewing are appreciated, Ms. Snart, I think I have a better idea.” He stood and grabbed his laptop off the counter. “Check it: I have about 1,000 movies in a cloud account so I can always have impromptu movie nights or have something on in the background while I work. How bout I pick the entertainment and you cover dinner.”

For a second, he thought she wasn’t gonna bite. But then she smiled that slow, wicked smile, the one that floored him when she pulled that shitty blonde wig off when they first met. “Sure thing, Cisco.”

He heard her voice, after she saved him. _Smart, sexy, Cisco_.

What harm could them hanging out do? The gang wouldn’t get it. After his reaction to E2 Harry and warming up to Jay, they might see his reasoning, but in truth, they wouldn’t ever leave him alone about it. And besides. Lisa seemed to be on her best behaviour. The only weapon she had on her (that he could see) was the Gold Gun he made her, and her nose crinkled in a really cute way as she tried to decide what to order.

Cisco may be a bit of a sucker when it came to Lisa Snart.

Dammit.

Movie night turned into Lisa teaching Cisco how to cheat at cards and Cisco made a tiny little upgrade to the Gold Gun. And a few days later, she was there, on his doorstep, this time with food already in hand. And it kept happening. Cisco still didn’t tell the team. It wasn’t really necessary anyway.

“You know,” Lisa said around a mouthful of General Tsao’s, “it’s kind of boring around here without Lenny. Sure I can do stuff without him, but its not the same.”

“Stuff” was undoubtedly criminal activity, but they, by some unspoken agreement, didn’t touch on the morality and how their chosen paths crossed.

“I totally get it. No, really. For a good half a year after the singularity, the Flash decided to go it Lone Ranger style. My evenings got a lot less interesting after that.” Not mentioning the guilt and loneliness and loss that came from that day seemed like the way to go.

“Good thing I have you here to keep me company.” Lisa winked.

Wow, it was a really weird experience feeling both hollow and twitter-pated over a girl at the same time. He fidgeted with his hands. It occurred to him, horrifically, that Lisa had become something more than just some girl who fucked up his life every now and again. That he felt at ease in her presence. She was becoming a solid presence in his life.

One that he could lose. One that could undo him again.

“Cisco? Is everything okay?” Lisa seemed concerned, reaching out as if to grasp his hand.

His phone rang.

“Shit, shit!” He stood, stumbling over to answer without checking who it was. “Hey, what’s up?”

It was Caitlin. _“We’ve got a meta-sighting. Barry’s already en route, but we could use you back here.”_

“Kay.” He hung up.

It wasn’t the first time Team Flash business had cut Lisa-Cisco night short, but this was the first time he was even slightly glad for it.

“Leese, I am so sorry—“

Lisa waved him off, smirking. “S’ok. Go. I’ll just have to eat your portion and see myself out.”

Smiling despite himself, Cisco grabbed his jacket and took off. He was halfway to S.T.A.R. labs before he realized he just left a known thief alone in his home, with prototypes lying around and his financial information stuffed away somewhere.

“Dammit, Cisco.”

 

When Cisco got back from Earth 2, it was like seeing his world for the first time. Seeing his evil-doppel and then his evil-doppel’s untimely demise at such a familiar method had brought back some memories he’d rather stayed buried. The alternate timeline where Evil-Wells killed him had just begun to stop haunting his dreams. He had a feeling he would have a whole new batch of horrible nightmare-flashbacks to greet him when he went to sleep.

Despite this, finding Lisa already sitting in his living room didn’t even faze him.

“Hey, Lisa.” He didn’t bother locking the door. The only person who’d ever broken in was already there.

“Hey, Cisco.”

Everything about her was off. The flat way she said his name. The stiffness with which she sat, ramrod straight. Her natural, almost lazy predatorial nature was gone; he didn’t know what to make of her like this. She stood, heels clicking harshly against the floor. Rounding the couch, she came to stand in front of him, expression closed.

“I suppose you have some questions for me.”

“Yeah. Like why haven’t you been home for the past two days?”

Cisco bristled. “Last I checked I don’t answer to you, Lisa.”

Lisa laughed, harsh and brittle. (Don’t think about Killerfrost, Cisco, completely unrelated icey supervillianess here.) “You don’t have to. Except I went by S.T.A.R. labs to see if you were ok, and Caitlin is a terrible liar. Don’t worry, she didn’t tell me anything. She didn’t have to.”

“I still don’t see how this any of your business.”

“It became my business when you started caring about me, dipshit. I don’t need a fucking itinerary, but when I go to your lab to check on you and your friend is white in the face with fear, I think a little heads up would be nice.”

This was a development Cisco never saw coming. “Just sit down, Leese.”

“I think I’ll stand.” If Cisco were poetic, he’d say her eyes were like chips of ice (goddammit, what is it with him and ice?). But they weren’t. They were the same eyes that fooled him into a trap, and the same eyes that begged him to help her brother. And she was hurting, and that was on him.

“Th-there’s a lot I can’t tell you right now, and I just—“

“I know. I get it. We’re on opposite sides. You want to protect the Flash. You don’t trust me. And that’s ok, you don’t have to tell me every detail. I just want to know a bit more of your life than your favorite movies. I want to know when you go somewhere dangerous so I can be ready to come save your ass.”

“But you can’t! Where I went, if something happened to me, no one would’ve been able to.”

Lisa, to his horror, was tearing up. That’s okay, he was getting there too.

“Is that supposed to make it better? Your friends don’t know we see each other! They wouldn’t know to tell me if you died horribly where no one could find you.”

Cisco turned away, throwing his hands up in the air. “And what am I supposed to tell them, exactly? ‘Hey guys, you know that woman, Lisa Snart? Screwed us over with her brother, who tortured mine to get the Flash’s name? The one who shoots my weapons, which I swear I would never build again after your brother almost killed the Flash the first time?’” He’s trembling. He’s never yelled in fight with anyone other than Dante. He doesn’t remember it being this terrifying. “We don’t talk about this kind of stuff because we don’t want to make it weird! We are friends to a point, but there is a long way to go before we are close enough for you to know about what we do.”

They stared at each other. Cisco was breathing heavy, tears long spilled over. Lisa’s were still locked up, threatening to brim over.

“Glad to know we have to swap dream journals before I know if you might die without even saying goodbye,” Lisa said, low and wavering and dangerously calm. She grabbed her Gold Gun. “I saw that you were safe. I got what I came for. Goodbye, Cisco.”

Cisco cried, alone in his apartment, hearing her footsteps down the stairs and the rev of her engine as she drove away. For all his trepidation, he cared for her immensely, and the silence she left felt like someone carved out his insides and left bare his squirming fears and loneliness.

 

A week after their fight, Cisco asked Lisa to meet him at a diner at the edge of the city. They both knew that it was best none of their people found them together. Not like this.

The diner itself was nothing special. Same cheap upholstery and dirty linoleum as any other, with decent pie. Cisco sat, nursing a cold cup of bitter coffee. When Lisa walked in, helmet in hand, he looked down.

“Where’s the Gold Gun?”

“I thought it was too noticeable. I’m still packing, don’t worry.”

The waitress came over with two fresh cups. Cisco wrapped grateful hands around his. Lisa merely thanked the waitress and dragged her manicured nail around the rim.

Crickets were sounding.

Finally, Lisa put her helmet on the seat next to her and prepared her coffee. “Well, Cisco, you were the one who invited me here. What do you need?”

“Need?” He put his cup down too fast, sloshing hot coffee on his hand. “Shit—ow, no, I didn’t—this isn’t like that.” He grabbed the nearest napkin.

Lisa smiled hesitantly. “Need some help there, boy genius?”

Cisco paused in his frantic patting. “I like it when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Call me a genius. Even if you’re being sarcastic. I like it when you say I’m smart. And, um, when you call me sexy. And stuff.”

Lisa nodded slowly, confused but playing along. “I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true.”

“Um. Well. I have a bit of bad history. With that.”

They sat in silence. Cisco was running himself in circles in his head. How much to tell her. How much to reveal. Some of it, he never talked about with anyone. A lot, actually. And here was a person, with very little bias and absolutely no room to take high ground, patiently waiting for him to tell her, if he wanted. It helped, remembering her coming to him about her brother and her dad. She trusted him, quite literally, with her life. Lisa may have been a criminal, but she also was his friend.

He could do this.

“I’ve been betrayed a lot. Not just by you guys. Umm, there was this guy who I trusted a lot. He always told me I was smart and I had potential and what have you. But, uh, he wasn’t a good guy, and he hurt people. Killed people. And I still trust. I still… let people in. But not very far. I let them get my heart, but they never know exactly what it is they’re holding. You make me want to not only give you access, but let you read the encryption code. And that scares me because when I trust the wrong person, I’m not the only one who gets hurt.” His hands were shaking. His voice was shaking. He was crying in public, in front of strangers. But he was doing it. Even a little.

Lisa sat, absorbing that. “You let me stay alone in your apartment.”

“That was actually not on purpose, believe it or not.”

Lisa held out her hand, slowly and carefully. He looked at it, seeing it but not. It hit him that when she reached for him, that time at dinner, it reminded him of Evil-Wells and his death. How hard that hit him.

Cisco took a deep breath and took her hand.

“We can take this, whatever this is, as slowly as you need to. Just, please, don’t cut me out like that. I was so worried.” Her thumb was rubbing across his knuckles softly. He stared at it, almost in disbelief. The tenderness in such a simple gesture should not have surprised him, but it did.

They stayed like that until he stopped shaking.

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me about goldenvibe @jedifinnrey


End file.
